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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. staff — employees
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. suit — in cards
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. staff — a stick
  12. chest — of your body
  13. suit — clothes
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chest — a box
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. suit — to fit
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bat — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com